India's literacy rate of 74.04% is well below the world average literacy rate of 84%.

Changing public officials’ minds and the world’s opinion requires facts. Making decisions about how best to allocate limited resources requires data. That’s why in 2005, Pratham initiated the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), a research program unlike any ever undertaken in India.

Every year ASER, meaning “impact” in Hindi, measures the enrollment as well as the reading and arithmetic levels of Indian children age 6 to 14. In 2008, ASER polled over 704,000 children in 16,198 villages and 564 rural districts in India. More than 32,000 volunteers from NGOs, colleges and universities, youth and women groups participated in this effort.

The more they know, the better they can serve India’s at-risk children. To keep this valuable program going, make a donation now.